Philomath and North Marion both posted girls soccer victories Thursday to set up a match next week that will likely determine the Oregon West Conference’s regular-season champion. The Warriors and Huskies will square off at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday on the PHS pitch.
North Marion (9-2 overall, 7-0 Oregon West) won its eighth straight game with an 8-0 rout over Stayton while Philomath (9-2, 6-1) took care of Newport, 3-1, on the road in Thursday games. The Huskies downed the Warriors, 2-1, in a Sept. 28 game on the Aurora campus.
If Philomath can secure a victory, the two teams would likely finish in a tie for first place if they both win out the rest of the way. North Marion would take a major step toward clinching the title with a tie or win over the Warriors. Even if the two tie for first, the lower-ranked team may be forced into the play-in round based on final OSAA rankings. The Huskies edged Philomath for the conference title last season by a half-game.
Tuesday’s varsity game will start a half-hour earlier than usual in an effort to have enough daylight to finish the junior varsity match.
Philomath found itself in a hard-fought match on the Cubs’ home turf Thursday evening. Newport scored in the 27th minute to take a 1-0 lead into halftime.
“It was a tough first half for us … we didn’t stay connected in our attack,” PHS coach Mat Phelps said.
But in the second half, Philomath took control. The Warriors tied the game in the opening minute with junior Petra Hernandez drawing a foul in the box to set up a penalty kick by senior Bailey Bell.
Seven minutes later, Hernandez scored with an assist by junior Sophia Bauer. The Warriors went up 3-0 in the 58th minute on a goal by senior Kamilla Grimmer, her 19th of the season, with an assist by junior Aspen Russell.
“The girls responded really strong and played one of their best halves,” Phelps said. “They completely controlled every aspect of the game in the second half.”
Following next week’s game against North Marion, the team will host Senior Night at 4 p.m. Thursday against Sweet Home and then wrap up the regular-season portion of its schedule Oct. 24 at Stayton.
